Appearance of the Heavenly Demon - Chapter 33

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 33
* * *
Shhhhh—
Fresh blood seeped through the crack in the door, a thin crimson line.
It spread slowly, bit by bit, until it reached Gu Yeong’s feet where he stood beside the threshold.
Splat.
With each step, a sticky warmth crawled up the soles of his feet.
Yet he did not stop walking.
Splat. Splat.
A hesitant stride, and still he moved forward.
The red stain had already soaked into his pant leg, slowly consuming him from below.
His feet halted before the door.
‘I must not open this door.’
Instinct screamed at him.
Do not open the door.
Yet his hand, moving of its own accord, finally reached for it.
‘No. Don’t open it.’
His hand was already stained with blood. Or rather, as if the taint were spreading, a dark crimson hue seeped slowly outward.
‘If I open this door—’
Shhhhhk—
At last, the door swung open, inch by inch.
A world of nothing but red filled his vision.
And from within it, a scream—
* * *
“-!”
Gu Yeong’s eyes snapped open.
Behind the Black Blindfold, wide eyes trembled for a moment.
He steadied his ragged breathing and gathered his senses.
‘When did I…’
When had he fallen asleep?
He straightened his body, which had been resting against the wooden pillar, and looked up at the sky.
Still deep night.
In terms of hours, it was only the briefest doze—less than a quarter hour.
The cry of field insects rang through the deep night, and from within the room came the faint, steady breathing of the sleeping child.
“….”
Thud—
Only then did the tension drain from Gu Yeong, and he rested his head against the pillar once more.
The moon hung unusually bright in the sky.
‘Was I so tired?’
Caring for a single child—was it truly this exhausting? And yet…
‘As a guardian, I have failed.’
The child’s bright, innocent face rose in his memory.
And with it, her question.
“Why do you wear that?”
A guileless inquiry, asked without malice.
His long fingers traced the Black Blindfold that obscured his eyes.
“I will not see. Even if I am shown, I will not look. Even if I look, I will not truly perceive, and I will not view the world aright.”
“This is my atonement to them.”
“….”
His arm fell limp at his side.
For some reason, tonight felt as though it would stretch on forever.
* * *
“Father!”
Namgung Ho-yeon rushed forward and threw his arms around him.
“You’re alive! I knew you would be…! I was certain…! I, I truly—”
His words gave way to pressure in his embrace.
Namgung Wun-hyeon gently patted his trembling son’s back.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t send word ahead. I’ve given you cause to worry.”
Namgung Ho-yeon drew away from his father, shaking his head.
His eyes were red-rimmed.
“It is not so, Father. You must have had your reasons. I am content simply to see you again like this.”
“Yes….”
Namgung Wun-hyeon’s eyes grew red as well.
“And I am glad too.”
They shared the joy of reunion for only a moment before hurrying into the inn.
Once inside a room, they confirmed no one was watching, shut the window, and barred the door.
Only then did Namgung Ho-yeon examine his father closely.
“Are you well, Father? Is there nowhere that pains you? Any fractures or—”
“I am fine.”
“Would you permit me to examine you? I brought along some medicinal materials, just in case—”
“Ho-yeon.”
Namgung Wun-hyeon gently stilled his son.
As he drew away Ho-yeon’s hand, which had moved to check his pulse, the younger man’s gaze wavered visibly.
“You are still unwell, then.”
“I am fine. Do not worry yourself so much.”
“Father….”
At the anguish in his son’s eyes, Namgung Wun-hyeon released a low sigh.
There was no hiding everything from him.
“Yes… there was a time when my life hung by a thread.”
“…!”
“But I have recovered greatly since then, so do not worry. I stand before you in good health now thanks to a young one who cared for me.”
“A young one, you say?”
A child had saved him?
Namgung Wun-hyeon chuckled softly.
“The tale is long to tell.”
He gave his son a brief account of all that had transpired.
How he had faced death, and barely escaped it by Yeon-u’s hand.
How he was recovering through cultivation of Jeong-yang, and training that child in martial arts.
He did not, however, speak in detail of what had happened on Seolhon Mountain or of his dealings with the Dark Shadow Demonic Army.
Sometimes ignorance is the safest course. This was such a time.
“Now, tell me of yourself. I wish to hear of the Main Family Branch and the Central Plains.”
Namgung Wun-hyeon asked his son about what had occurred during his absence.
The state of the martial world and the family.
Whether all remained safe, and whether any grave troubles had arisen.
Ho-yeon calmly recounted the events of his father’s absence, and most of what he said aligned with the information the Dark Shadow Demonic Army had provided.
“However, Father.”
“Yes?”
“I am uncertain whether it is appropriate to speak of this given the current circumstances….”
Ho-yeon hesitated.
But then he sighed and met his father’s gaze.
“Uncle seems… strange somehow.”
Namgung Wun-hyeon’s expression hardened.
“Strange? In what way?”
“Some time ago, he suggested a suitable match for A-rin’s marriage—the son of a flag station master.”
Namgung A-rin was Namgung Ho-yeon’s daughter.
That is, she was Namgung Wun-hyeon’s granddaughter.
“A flag station master…?”
“Yes. It was a place called the Heeyu Flag Station in Gangseо Province. Have you heard of it?”
“I have not heard the name before.”
“Neither had I, so I sent men to inquire. The Heeyu Flag Station is reasonably well-known in Gangseо Province. However….”
Ho-yeon’s expression darkened.
Seeing him hesitate to speak, Namgung Wun-hyeon urged him on.
“Speak freely.”
“…It appears to be connected with the Padao Sword Sect.”
“The Padao Sword Sect, you say?”
The Padao Sword Sect—was this not the Sword Sect that had been expelled from the Martial Arts Alliance years ago when its collusion with the Black Path was exposed?
“They appear to be backing the Heeyu Flag Station from behind. I do not know the full extent of their involvement, but it troubles me that Uncle would suggest such a match. He must be aware of the history between the Padao Sword Sect and you.”
Glub, glub, glub….
An unmistakable aura swelled around Namgung Wun-hyeon.
It was a fierce force, heavy with barely contained rage.
“How dare you lay a hand on my granddaughter… on someone from the Padao Sword Sect…!”
That fury became a wave of pressure that crushed the room in an instant.
Namgung Ho-yeon spoke, a tremor in his voice.
“B-but right now A-rin is still so young, and the Council of Elders is already opposing this! Surely… Uncle must have his reasons…!”
Namgung Ho-yeon did not know that Namgung Mo-hyeon had tried to kill Wun-hyeon.
Because of this, he could not simply go against his uncle’s wishes.
Namgung Mo-hyeon was a hero of the clan who stood beside Wun-hyeon to the very end as he fell fighting the Demonic Sect.
Through this, he had risen as the true power broker holding the Namgung Clan’s authority.
But Wun-hyeon’s case was different.
A low rumble tore from his throat.
Wun-hyeon clenched his fists.
‘You dare touch A-rin!’
The presumption of it…!
A fury deeper than what he’d felt when Namgung Mo-hyeon tried to kill him surged up from his Dantian.
His Qi trembled with an anger so violent he wanted to rush forward that very instant, seize the man by the throat, and strangle the life from him.
“In one sense, this is fortunate, is it not?”
Wun-hyeon looked at Ho-yeon.
Fortunate?
Ho-yeon broke into a smile.
“Father is in such good health.”
It was a smile of genuine relief.
“Once Father returns, surely Uncle will no longer insist on his will.”
“….”
Wun-hyeon could not find words to follow.
He had come to see his son, but he had no intention of leaving at once.
No—he could not leave.
If he simply departed now….
‘A-rin.’
If he did not leave, his granddaughter would be in danger—that much was certain.
Namgung Mo-hyeon had already seized control of the Main Family Branch and was bending it to his will.
‘What am I to do….’
Wun-hyeon sank into deep deliberation.
“…!”
His expression hardened in an instant.
Wun-hyeon turned to Ho-yeon with a question.
“Who have you told of your coming here?”
Ho-yeon’s eyes widened.
He shook his head firmly.
“Did you not instruct me not to tell anyone, Father? I told the search party I was visiting the Main Family Branch, so they shouldn’t know….”
“I see.”
Then.
‘What in the world are all these presences?’
A subtle whisper of energy rippled through the air.
Wun-hyeon’s Qi Sensing expanded throughout the entire inn.
The two guests who had been there when he entered, the serving girl, the innkeeper.
The central room assigned to them.
And the remaining rooms, filling one by one during his conversation with Ho-yeon.
‘This is Haneum Valley.’
Haneum Valley, enclosed by forbidding mountain ranges where few travelers passed through.
A remote place where even one or two guests would be noteworthy.
‘Yet there are many guests here.’
* * *
“He’s back?!”
Gu Yeong, who had been carrying in a table from the servant, paused at the cry that burst through the opening door.
Then he calmly set the table down on the floor platform.
“You’re up early. The meal has just arrived.”
“Yay!”
Just waking up, I’m already starving!
Yeon-u came running over with quick, light steps and sat before the table.
Then began eating with unbridled enthusiasm—
“…want some?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
Yeon-u tilted his head.
A child of darkness — did he actually eat?
Did he eat to live?
“I’m managing my hunger well enough. Please, eat as much as you’d like without worrying about me.”
Though his cheeks were already bulging from the food he’d stuffed inside.
“Mm!”
Ah, there it was! He was eating!
Only then did Yeon-u feel at ease and continue his meal.
Today he’d planned to do the training he’d failed to complete yesterday.
His grandfather had said that if he trained hard enough, he would come back.
He wanted to surprise his grandfather when he returned.
Yes. By training hard.
He’d give him a real surprise.
Gu Yeong watched the boy wolf down his rice with fascination.
‘And here I thought he’d sleep right after eating all that yesterday.’
He’d gone straight to sleep after the meal.
Now he was eating the moment he woke.
Watching how thoroughly he scraped clean the rice and every side dish — as if determined to get his fill of something — Gu Yeong couldn’t help but feel a quiet admiration.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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